


A Life Changing Friendship

by TheKitsune



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Gift Fic, Kind of a Season 2 Lila fix, Lila is nothing like her Chameleon self, Starts shortly after Volpina ends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 08:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17422607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKitsune/pseuds/TheKitsune
Summary: Thanks to a fateful encounter, Marinette and Lila end up becoming friends shortly after the latter's akumatization into Volpina. With this friendship comes several changes for Lila that keeps her from becoming the spiteful girl she is in Catalyst and Chameleon.





	A Life Changing Friendship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vivific](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivific/gifts).



> This is a late Christmas gift fic for my friend emblian (who is vivific on here :D).

Marinette sighed as she walked down the stairs that lead into her school. Today was...interesting to say the least. Her new classmate, Lila Rossi, had apparently contacted Mme. Bustier to tell her that she couldn't come back to class because her family had some important places to travel to. And unlike the rest of her friends in class, excluding Adrien...and maybe Chloe now that she thinks about it, Marinette was pretty sure that Lila was lying to stay out of school.

And that's where Marinette's current flux of emotions came from. Part of her was relieved that the girl who had lied so much on her first day and was trying to steal Adrien was not going to be returning anytime soon, but the other part of her...felt extremely guilty. The reason that she wasn't coming back to class was definitely because of the Volpina incident that was caused by Marinette, as Ladybug, calling Lila out on her lie about knowing her.

The whole thing was caused by Marinette's jealousy over Lila stealing all of Adrien's attention with her lies about being related to a previous Miraculous wielder and stealing Adrien's book...which she thankfully was able to return to Adrien later. Apparently his father was really upset when he found out that Adrien had taken it. Then again, it is what lead Marinette to suspecting Gabriel of being Hawkmoth...

Back to Lila though! While she was upset that Lila had been lying to everyone and trying to steal Adrien for herself...she also knew that she had hurt Lila deeply when she called her out on her lie to Adrien. The fact that she didn't accept her apology after being de-akumatized drove that point even further home. When she didn't show up for class for the next few days...it really began gnawing away at Marinette. And now that Lila had pretty much dropped out of school because of it...she really felt awful.

"I didn't mean to hurt her this badly...Jealousy really is an awful thing huh Tikki?" Marinette whispered to herself as she walked down the street back to her house. She felt a small stirring in her bag that implied Tikki agreed with her assessment on the situation. Letting out a sigh, she continued on her way only to grunt as she ran into someone and fell back onto the sidewalk while the other person barely caught themself.

Letting out a quiet hiss of pain, Marinette rubbed her elbow as she felt what surely was going to be a bruise begin to form. "Ow..." Marinette quietly muttered before noticing a hand in front of her face. Looking up, she felt her jaw fall as she saw the person she was just thinking about offering her a hand.

"Sorry about that. I was on the way back home. My mama wanted me to pick up some sweets for her from the bakery nearby so that I could get out of the house," Lila told Marinette as she pulled the girl back to her feet while also subtly checking out the girl's appearance. She looked familiar...aside from the Ladybug similarities. Had she seen the girl before?

"Oh...uh, it's okay. I'm guessing the bakery you went to was my family's bakery. Maman and Papa are the greatest bakers in all of Paris after all...and my house is in the direction you were coming from ehehe," Marinette chuckled out nervously while scratching the back of her head. Lila smiled at the scene and covered her mouth to keep herself from giggling. As she went to excuse herself, she suddenly froze as Marinette asked her a shocking question that made her realize why this girl was so familiar.

"Lila...why did you lie about leaving school? Mme. Bustier told us that you were currently travelling to Prince Ali's country and that you would be away for a good portion of the school year which is why you had to drop out. Are...are you skipping school because you were akumatized?" Marinette quietly asked Lila who she noticed had immediately tensed up and froze at her question. Maybe...maybe this wasn't the best way to ask a girl that she barely knew a question that was clearly very personal...

"Actually...nevermind, I can understand if you don't want to explain. It's probably a personal matter. Um...I hope to see you again, maybe at my family's bakery. We could hang out if you want. I...I will not tell anyone else in class that you're still in Paris if you want me to," Marinette quickly spouted out so that she didn't accidentally cause the akumatization of Lila...again. She bowed to Lila before she moved to pass her and continue her way to her home only to feel Lila's hand gently, yet firmly grasp her's.

"...Please...please don't tell anyone I'm still here. I...I can't face that class anymore. After...after **that** happened," Lila almost seemed to beg Marinette while still staring at the ground. Marinette looked back at her in concern as she could almost swear that Lila seemed to be trembling at just thinking about what happened.

Turning back around, Marinette walked towards the trembling Italian and gently grasped her shoulders. "I promise Lila. Your secret is safe with me. And if you ever want to return to class, I will help you get readjusted to everything. Maybe you should think about that actually. I mean pretty much the entire class has been akumatized before and no one thinks differently of them for it. But I will not force you to return just...please think about it...if even a little bit," Marinette gently pleaded with the girl who looked away slightly, but nodded in response.

Marinette smiled and was about to leave only to stop again at the sound of Lila's voice. "What...what is your name? I never caught it on my first day since I was...busy," Lila quietly muttered the last word while glaring at the ground.

Feeling the guilt begin to slightly relieve itself from her heart, Marinette smiled brightly at Lila who looked up at that exact moment, "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng! It's nice to officially meet you, Lila!" and felt her cheeks flush and her eyes widen slightly. Before Lila could respond, Marinette gasped as she saw what time it was on a nearby street clock. Apologizing to Lila, she rushed off to her house and promised to hang out again should she come back to her family's bakery.

"...Marinette..." Lila whispered to herself as she covered her heart and felt a small smile form on her face. Nodding to herself, she looked up confidently and walked towards her current home.  
\------------  
Ever since that fateful meeting, Marinette and Lila has officially began hanging out with each other twice a week. Once after school and one day on the weekend. Marinette always made sure to have an excuse for her friends for why she could not hang out with them on those days. While she didn't like that she was basically lying to them so she could hang out with someone else, she was hoping that this would all pay off in the end.

"R-really, you can't speak with Adrien? Why, he seemed like such a nice guy to speak to," Lila asked Marinette as they sat in her room. She didn't expect the answer that she received though...or the slight pang in her chest either. Marinette's face lit up like a Christmas tree as she began stuttering incoherently. Raising her eyebrow, Lila began glancing around Marinette's room for clues to this mystery only to face palm as she realized that it wasn't much of a mystery.

There were dozens of pictures of Adrien strewn all over Marinette's wall, magazines with Adrien on the cover on her desk, and a background with his picture on her computer desktop. So...she had a crush on Paris's most well-known teen model? If Marinette was any other person, Lila would believe it was just some shallow fangirl crush...but this was Marinette. And over the past few weeks, she's seen just how kind and compassionate the girl actually is. So this crush must be genuine.

"Oh...you have a crush on him?" Lila innocently asked the girl who squeaked in response while staring at Lila in shock only to blush even brighter when Lila motioned to the pictures of Adrien in response to Marinette's unspoken question. Shooting up, Marinette moved to cover the pictures only to hear Lila quietly laugh in response.

"It's okay Marinette. I promise I will not tell anyone. I mean you are the only person I speak to in Paris anyway. And I did not really depart on the best of terms with Adrien anyway...so he probably would not even believe me if I told him..." Lila whispered quietly at the end while looking away.

Looking over at her new friend, Marinette frowned as she saw Lila's lip begin to quiver. Narrowing her eyes in determination, Marinette quickly moved and wrapped Lila in a tight hug which surprised the girl, at least Marinette thinks if the Italian words flying out of her mouth were anything to go off of.

"Lila, I am sure that Adrien will forgive you if you apologize to him. He is a very nice guy. When I first met him, I had assumed that he was a bully like Chloe thanks to a misunderstanding, but we reconciled soon afterwards. All it takes is one small apology, and I'm sure that he will be more than happy to give being friends a chance," Marinette quietly told Lila who slowly brought her hands up and grasped Marinette's arms to return the hug as best as she could.

She still had some reservations about apologizing, but she knew Marinette was right. If she was ever going to go back to that school...she had a lot of apologies to dish out. Adrien was top on that list. For more than just lying about being Ladybug's best friend. The fact that she was trying to use him to be more popular by pretending to be interested in him was also quite bad...

As the two sat there quietly, Marinette shifted into a sitting position and pulled Lila onto her lap which surprised the girl. Not because of the action, since Marinette was a very affectionate girl (something she discovered over the past few weeks), but the fact that she was the one in the lap. She was taller than Marinette! If anything she should be holding Marinette in her lap! Hugging and cuddling with the girl! Letting her rest her head against her chest! Letting her heart beat fast as she stroked Marinette's hair...

Lila's face bursted into a red flush as she realized where her thoughts were leading to, and she hid her face in the crook of Marinette's neck. While nice...it didn't help her situation when Marinette began to gently stroke Lila's hair and made Lila's entire body began to light up red.

"It's okay Lila, I'm here for you," Marinette reassured Lila who she believed was crying on her shoulder. Lila just did her best to come to terms with what she was currently feeling.  
\-------  
So...the past few weeks have been interesting...Not only has the choice of akumatized victims been interesting (seriously, a baby? Really Hawkmoth), but Lila has finally come to grips with the feelings that had began to feel for Marinette. She...she had a crush on her best friend...only friend...both. It shouldn't have been so surprising though considering Marinette was the only person that Lila even spent time with. This did concern her though.

Was that the only reason she had a crush on Marinette? Because she was the only person that Lila spent time with? If she finally went back to school and became true friends with her classmates would her feelings change?

She didn't want to think so; after all, Marinette was such a kind and sweet person. She went out of her way to spend time with her and keep her secret from the rest of her friends. And even though Lila could tell Marinette really hated lying and liars, she still gave her a chance and allowed Lila to continue her ways until she was finally ready to tell the truth. Marinette...Marinette was really kind. Plus, she was really beautiful. The last time they spent time together, Marinette decided to model some of her new projects to get Lila's opinion, and suffice to say, Lila was speechless and red for the rest of the night.

As she rested on her bed, she heard her phone buzz. Looking over at it, she grabbed it and brought it to her ear as she absent-mindedly answered. "Hello- _Lila!!!_ " Lila gritted her teeth at the sound of Marinette's voice ringing in her ear drums.

"Marinette? What...what is it?" Lila asked Marinette who she could picture bouncing around her room excitedly.

_"Can you come over today? Just for a little bit? I...It's my birthday, and while I'm sure my friends from school are going to do something for it, I know you don't want to see them just yet...but I didn't want to celebrate my birthday without hanging out with you for just a bit..."_

Lila felt her face heat up. Marinette...she knew that all of her friends were going to throw her a party, but she still thought about her. She wanted to spend time with her on her birthday even with all of her other friends preparing a party for her? Jumping out of bed, she looked around her room and began rushing around to gather clothes.

"I need to get Marinette a present on my way...She needs something amazing!" Lila spoke to herself only to blush as she looked over at her phone realizing she never responded to Marinette and that her friend could probably hear her.

_"Lila...you do not need to get me anything for my birthday. Just seeing you will be enough!"_ Marinette's beautiful voice rang over the phone causing Lila's face to heat up. She whispered something to herself before responding to Marinette.

"Marinette...I...I'm going to miss your party. We might see each other today, but it will only be for a little while. I want to at least get you something to show that I do indeed care about you," Lila responded quietly while blushing as she spoke her words. She didn't hear anything from Marinette after that. It was so quiet from Marinette's side that she was almost sure that the girl had hung up or lost her signal. She sighed and was about to hang up as well before pausing as she heard what sounded like a small sob followed by Marinette quietly replying.

_"Thank you."_ The line went dead after that.

Lila wondered what happened. Did she upset Marinette? Did Marinette really believe that she didn't like her? That couldn't be it...right? She groaned lightly before deciding to hurry up and get dressed. The quicker she gets Marinette a present and gets to her house, the more time she can spend with her sweet croissant...Marinette...this crush sucked...

Looking over at the mirror in her room, she smiled lightly as she nodded her head. "Nothing will ruin this day."  
\-----  
Lila needed to learn when to keep her mouth shut. By the time she got her present for Marinette and reached Marinette's house, Marinette's parents told her that her grandmother had apparently shown up and dragged her out of the house to spend time with her.

While she didn't want to get between Marinette and her grandmother who she rarely got to see, Lila really wanted to see Marinette today. Sighing under her breath, she sat down on a bench in one of the nearby parks. She was going to head to the usual one that she walks through, but she saw party supplies there which meant that that had to be where Marinette's friends were setting up her party.

Sitting down on the bench, she sighed and looked down at the present in her hands. She had found a light orange ribbon that she thought would look good in her hair. She had seen an old picture of Marinette wearing her hair in a bun...she wanted to see Marinette like that again, but with a long orange ribbon since...orange was kind of Lila's signature color...Anyway, she also got a cute mouse charm necklace that she thought would look good on Marinette. Marinette's shy personality when it came to Adrien reminded Lila of shy mice that she has seen in old cartoons.

Oh well...she can always give them to her some other day. As she leaned back on the bench, she spotted an older woman heading her way. She looked...down though. Like something bad happened. Before Lila could relax back on the bench and leave the woman to her own devices, she looked at her again and began to realize something. This woman held a few familiar features to Marinette. Could this woman be...

"Um ma'am?" Lila stood up and stood in the woman's way which caused her to pause and look up at Lila with a sad, but annoyed stare causing Lila to pause as she realized how sad she was. "Sorry for interrupting you, but I just wanted to ask if you know Marinette?"

This got a desired reaction out of her as she looked at Lila in shock before sighing and nodding her head. "So I guess you're also Mari's friend huh? Why aren't you at that party with the rest of her friends? She'd rather be there than spending time with me..." Marinette's grandmother sadly spoke which caused Lila's eyes to widen. Looking around, she sighed in relief as she didn't spot an akuma, but she had a feeling that if Marinette's grandmother didn't cheer up soon...Ladybug and Chat Noir would be fighting Marinette's grandmother.

"Um...I...I'm not going either. I have a reason for why I am unable to go. Why...why don't you go as well? I heard from her mama and papa that she was spending time with you so I'm sure she would love if you went to the party as well," Lila told her while sitting back down on the bench. Marinette's grandmother looked down at her for a moment before sighing and sitting down next to her.

"No...I'm sure she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. I have spent so long away from her. I do not even know what she likes now. Heck, I thought she was turning 10 when I showed up earlier. Everywhere I took her was a place that she liked when she was younger. I do not even know what kind of sweets she likes now. I'm a terrible Nonna..." Marinette's grandmother finished. Lila looked at her in shock. She didn't expect this. With how fondly Marinette spoke of her grandmother, she figured they were super close.

Wait.

"Are you Italian, miss?" Lila questioned Marinette's grandmother who just looked at her in confusion before nodding. Lila smiled slightly at this. "That's amazing, I'm Italian to! I haven't really gotten to speak with someone else who was Italian since I arrived in Paris...besides my mama that is. I just wish it was a happier conversation."

Marinette's grandmother's eye widened slightly before a small smile formed on her lips. Bringing her hand up, she gently petted Lila's head which caused Lila to blush in embarrassment. "My name's Gina, little miss. May I have the name of my Mari's good friend?"

Lila looked down in embarrassment before responding, "Lila...Lila Rossi." Gina smiled as she continued petting Lila's head.

Things were quiet between the two for a moment before Lila finally spoke back up. "Signora Gina...I...I do not think you should be so upset about how today has went. I know it's pretty upsetting when you realize you may not know someone as well as you think you do, but there is always a good reason for this. I am sure you have been living your life like you want to live it. There is nothing wrong with that. Marinette doesn't mind either. You should have heard her the other day. She just went on and on about how amazing you were. I was kind of jealous actually ehehe. But she really does love you. I'm sure she didn't want to let her friends down so that's why she went to the party. If you head over there then I am positive that she will be happy to see you," Lila quietly explained to Gina who looked at her in shock before looking away as she let Lila's words process through her mind.

It took a moment before she finally sighed and smiled. "You know what. You're probably right Lila. I may just be overreacting to all of this. I shouldn't let Marinette down or let her think that I am upset with her. I'm going to head on over to her party. Would you like to come along with me?"

Lila's eyes widened before quickly shaking her head no. "I-I can't go...I have several different reasons for why I can't go, but um...can I ask you a favor? I wanted to give this to Marinette myself, but since I will not get to see her before her birthday ends...could you give it to her for me?" Lila requested while bowing and holding the present box out. Gina looked at it in shock before thinking about something. Lila wasn't sure what it was, but she seemed to be slightly sad when she finished...at least she looked sad for a second before plastering a smile on her face.

"Sure leave it to me. I'll make sure Marinette knows that you wish her a great birthday. Also, I'd love to have your number. It's always nice to have someone to talk to especially about Marinette," Gina smirked as Lila understood what she meant. She wanted to know as many embarrassing things about Marinette as possible so she could have tons of Mari stories to tell future grandchildren.

Nodding her head while giggling, Lila gave Gina her number and present before telling her good-bye. The two parted ways as Lila headed back to her house while Gina headed to Marinette's party. While Lila regretted that she couldn't see Marinette today, at least she was able to prevent Marinette's nonna from being akumatized.

Plus...she got another number added to her contacts!  
\--------  
Lila sat on her bed and began to brush her hair before she laid down to head to sleep. As she looked to the side and brushed her hair, she heard a knock on her bedroom door. Figuring that it was just her own mama, she yelled for them to enter. Instead, she was surprised when a bun hair-styled bluenette came rushing in and looking out of breath.

"M-Marinette?" Lila stuttered as she looked at the disheveled girl who looked up at her with a small smile while panting, clearly out of breath. Did...did Marinette run all the way here?

"Lila! I-I am so sorry that I completely skipped out on hanging out with you! I didn't expect my Nonna to drag me out before you got to my house. By the time, I was able to get away, the party was ready, and I...I'm so sorry..." Marinette apologized while holding her head down.

Lila's face was a deep red as she realized that she was standing in front of Marinette in her night gown. And that Marinette ran all the way here just to see her. While it was nice to know how much Marinette cared about her, she hated seeing Marinette upset.

Walking over to her, she pulled the girl into a hug and began to rub the small of her back to comfort her. Plus...she got an up close look at how cute Marinette looked with her present in her hair...she loved seeing Marinette in a bun...

"It's okay Marinette. I'm sure your Nonna told you what happened when she arrived at your party. I do not mind at all. I know how much you were looking forward to seeing your grandmother. Plus I know how much you were looking forward to your party. I am not upset at all. I just wanted you to have a great birthday. I'm sorry I had to ruin it by having you get worried over me..." Lila trailed off as she continued hugging Marinette.

Marinette pulled back slightly with a pout and looked a startled Lila in the eye. "Never think like that. You are not ruining anything for me. I am worried about you because you are my friend. Just because I might be worried about someone does not mean they are ruining anything for me. Plus...I didn't have a great birthday yet. I never got to see you after all..." Marinette whispered in a timid voice which caused Lila to choke on air in shock at her words.

"Oh...well. Then stay for as long as you want ehehe...We can't have the birthday girl have a bad birthday now can we?" Lila nervously said as she released Marinette only for the girl to cling back onto her and nuzzle against her. Lila blinked in shock as she subtly pinched herself to see if she was dreaming.

"Ow...." Lila muttered quietly. Nope, not dreaming.  
\--------  
It was a few weeks later, Marinette invited Lila out to get some ice cream on a Saturday. She was initially worried about getting spotted by someone from school, but Marinette reassured her that everyone was busy today. She made sure in class before texting her. She wasn't sure at first before Marinette sent her a selfie of her using her puppy dog pout...while having her hair styled in a bun with the ribbon that Lila got her for her birthday on. Curse her love for Maribun...

As she headed to the destination that Marinette sent her, she began looking over the pass few weeks. Besides the odd akumas...and superheroes (seriously, Chloe was a superhero now? And there was an actual Volpina now? Sorry, Rena Rouge), the oddest thing was Marinette's behavior towards her. She had been very affectionate...even moreso than normal. What...what was going on. Marinette had a crush on Adrien right? Lila knew she didn't have a chance with the lovable bluenette because of this fact.

Marinette's behaviour lately though was giving her way too much false hope for anything else between them. Sighing, she smiled slightly at the sight of her best friend waving excitedly at her while standing next to an ice cream stand with a very jolly looking man standing next to it.

Jogging the rest of the way, Lila smiled at Marinette before blushing as Marinette linked arms with her. "Lila! This is Monsieur André! He makes the greatest ice cream in all of Paris! I figured that after everything that's happened since you arrived in Paris, you deserve some of his ice cream," Marinette happily told her which caused Lila to blush slightly before smiling and nodding her head in thanks. Looking over at the ice cream man, she was shocked to see him give her a knowing smile.

Before Lila could say anything though, he quickly grabbed a cone and threw on a scoop of vanilla and blueberry ice cream on the bottom, orange in the middle, and watermelon on top with a small chocolate chip on top. Looking at it in shock, she looked back at André who gave her another knowing smile before wishing the two a great day while telling them to make sure to share the ice cream. Blushing as the thoughts of sharing an ice cream with Marinette passed through her mind, she looked over and was surprised to see a similar face on Marinette.

Was there something about this ice cream that she should know about?

Surely not...but she will admit that walking through Paris, holding hands with Marinette, and taking turns licking the ice cream was probably the best day of her life.  
\-------  
Marinette smiled as she sat in her room and looked over at the background picture on her computer. No longer was there a picture of her blonde friend from school, now there was a picture of her and Lila that she took on her birthday night. She couldn't really explain how it happened. At the beginning, she was feeling guilty for what she did to Lila and reached out to be her friend because of this. However, over time she slowly grew closer to Lila and found herself thankful of the day that they ran into each other near her family's bakery.

Especially now, considering that she had a new crush thanks to everything that happened. She would say who it is, but they really deserve to know about it first. And, according to her phone, they will be knowing about it soon since they were heading over right now.

"Marinette! Lila's here to see you!" Marinette shot up with a bright smile on her face. Well...it's time to confess...

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed the fic. I had some trouble writing it because I'm still currently working on my upcoming Miraculous Ladybug/Ace Attorney fic, but I wanted this fic to come out well so I hope it did.


End file.
